In this semi-regular department, Seth Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition.

There was a moment at the opening of Millennial Pink where I just literally could not.

It was around my waiting to check out Jesi Guitierrez’s “No Llores,” an interactive piece that explores her Xicana culture and incorporates a Walkman-style cassette tape recorder. I watched as three, eh, youngish people fumbled over how to use the outdated contraption, wondering aloud as to what to swipe.

I had a choice to make. I could either play the part of the diplomatic elder statesman and show these millennials how to work a Walkman or, I could simply roll my eyes before they finally gave up and moved on.

So, I showed them the “play,” “stop,” “rewind,” and “fast-forward” buttons. They seemed appreciative enough until one of the women casually inquired.

“What’s fast-forward?”

I just could not.

Millennials often get a bad rep, sometimes deservedly, but more often than not, it’s a rep that is pushed and perpetuated by Gen X and Baby Boomers who forget that their own generational forbearers often criticized them in the same way. Millennial Pink, a new group show that runs through Sept. 3 at the San Diego Art Institute, explores the “evolution of queer aesthetics.” The show itself is named after a shade of pink that is neither masculine nor feminine, and the works presented mean to explore millennials’ embracing of non-binary gender identities and sexual fluidity.

Many of the artists do an excellent job at conveying this theme. Carlitos Galvan’s “Gay Stuff II” photos were a brilliant extension of the series, consisting mainly of portraits that are exquisite in their androgyny. Vabianna Santos has worked in text-on-paper-based works before, but her “A River” piece is part of a new series that addresses, as she puts it, “mixed statuses in cultural distinctions including gender, race and economic background.” One of the more popular pieces at the show was Mauricio Muñoz’s “Shopping List,” a neon sign that unsubtly criticizes the gay community by literally spelling out some of their misogynistic and discriminatory preferences from dating sites.

Some might see the work as agenda-driven, but that would be missing the point. The dozens of artists on display are exploring the theme, not getting bogged down in it, and that’s what makes Millennial Pink itself worth exploring. Viewers will come out of it with their own questions and—hopefully for the older ones—a fresh outlook on the younger generation’s perspective on important topics. Most of them may not know how to use a Walkman, but they’re steering our culture in a progressive direction where gender and sexuality will be both an afterthought and more important than ever. The kids, it seems, are all right after all. They don’t need our help anymore.